HOUSTON (AP) — Adrian Peterson’s mother is defending the Minnesota Vikings running back in the wake of child abuse allegations against him, saying that he is “trying hard to be a good parent.”
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1Dl4YuK ), Bonita Jackson of Spring, Texas, said she and Peterson’s father, Nelson Peterson, were “big disciplinarians” who used hands, switches and belts to occasionally spank all six of her children.
Jackson, who is 50, said most parents discipline their children a little excessively sometimes, but they are trying to prepare their children “for the real world.”
In her words, “When you whip those you love, it’s not about abuse, but love.”
Adrian Peterson has been indicted in suburban Houston with felony child abuse after swatting his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch.
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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com
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